HUL unveils new fragrance hub as part of USD 116.5M global creation program

INDIA – Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has inaugurated the Unilever Fragrance Hub (UFH) in Mumbai, establishing India as the third country, following the UK and US, to host a global fragrance innovation centre. 

This facility is part of Unilever’s comprehensive €100 million (USD 116.5 million) investment programme dedicated to advancing in-house, digitally enabled fragrance creation capabilities.

Located on the IIT Bombay campus, the facility is a fully integrated fragrance creation, application, and evaluation centre that combines proprietary creation software, real-time evaluation data capture, and advanced compounding technologies, enabling teams to design, test, and refine fragrances end-to-end. 

The hub leverages consumer insights, advanced science, and artificial intelligence to accelerate innovation, enhance product experience, and support premiumisation across multiple product categories, including shampoos, body washes, deodorants, and laundry detergents. 

By bringing fragrance design, development, and evaluation capabilities closer to India, one of the world’s fastest-growing consumer markets, the centre enables faster product development cycles and improved responsiveness to local consumer preferences while harnessing vast data from India’s expanding consumption base to design fragrances that can scale globally. 

The facility will also create opportunities to collaborate with academia, particularly in science and technology, data, and digital-first fragrance innovation, reinforcing India’s role as a key growth market and a research and development hub for Unilever’s global business. 

Vibhav Sanzgiri, Executive Director of R&D at HUL, emphasized that fragrance plays a critical role in elevating the consumer experience and performance of everyday products, noting that the India lab enables teams to collaborate seamlessly with other Unilever fragrance hubs globally. 

Vivek Sirohi, Head of Unilever Fragrance House, described India as one of Unilever’s most important growth markets and a critical engine of innovation for its global business, stating that the inauguration reflects continued investment in cutting-edge capabilities that bring together science, technology, and deep consumer insights. 

This milestone affirms that fragrance is an increasingly important driver of product desirability, premiumisation, and brand preference across many of Unilever’s categories.

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